The Hexagon Counts feature in Metroview provides a way to visualize activity by aggregating trips into uniform hexagonal cells. Unlike line-based views, Hexagon Counts show where activity occurs spatially, regardless of the underlying mapped street or trail network. This can be especially useful in areas with new infrastructure or where OpenStreetMap (OSM) data may be incomplete.
Using Hexagon Counts
To access Hexagon Counts:
- Navigate to the Map tab at the top of the Metroview page.
- In the Map Views panel on the left side of the page, select the Hexagons option under Counts.
Once selected, the map will display a hexagon grid overlay. If prompted to Zoom in to load hexagons, either click the button or manually zoom into your area of interest. You may also need to click Refresh hexagons in this area to load the data. The hexagon overlay updates based on the current map extent and selected time frame.
Hexagons are shaded using a color gradient to represent relative activity levels. Darker hexagons indicate a higher number of activities within the selected time period. Hovering over a hexagon displays summary statistics, including total trip counts and average speed.
By clicking on an individual hexagon, the statistics panel on the right side will reflect information for your selection.
Filters in the lower-left corner of the screen allow you to refine the data shown on the map, including:
Commute or Leisure trips
-
Time of day
Morning (5am–10am)
Midday (10am–3pm)
Evening (3pm–8pm)
Overnight (8pm–5am)
Weekdays or Weekends
Specific months or years
Using these filters together allows you to explore patterns such as weekday morning commute activity for a specific year.
Understanding the Hexagon Grid
Hexagon Counts use the H3 grid system, an open-source geospatial indexing system that partitions the world into hexagonal cells. For Hexagon Counts, we use H3 resolution 11, where each hexagon covers approximately:
- 2,149.643 m²
- 0.00083 square miles
- 0.53 acres
This resolution is sufficient to capture data for parallel line features such as footpaths, bike lanes, and traffic lanes.
Additional Notes and Considerations
Hexagon Counts can be helpful in areas where infrastructure is new or not yet fully represented in OSM, since activity is aggregated spatially rather than tied to specific map features.
All data shown in Hexagon Counts follows the same aggregation and privacy standards as other Strava Metro tools.
At this time, Hexagon Counts data is not available for export.